Respirators and masks are generally used to prevent aspiration of airborne particulates. Airborne particulates may include smoke caused by a fire or explosion; smoke and gunpowder pollutants from gunfire; blowing sand such as in the desert; and even contaminants from open sewage pits, as are often found in third-world countries or war-torn regions. Although respirators and masks are the most common solution, many individuals do not feel comfortable wearing them, and indeed, feel out of place wearing a respirator, or even a mask. Further, because of the cumbersome nature of traditional respirators, in practice many people resort to pulling a t-shirt or handkerchief up over their face to act as a crude filter when they find themselves in dusty or smoky situations.
Current respiratory materials provide reasonably good air permeability initially. However, these materials quickly become “clogged” with contaminants as the process of “capturing” the contaminants also reduces the size of the pores through which the air travels through the respiratory materials. This in turn decreases the air flow and increases the force necessary to draw in enough oxygen, essentially making it more and more difficult to breathe. In addition, these masks or respirators are generally not fire retardant, nor are they waterproof or Electro-Static Discharge (ESD) resistant. This is particularly problematic in cold regions where any moisture in the mask will freeze, again causing clogging of the respiratory materials, and essentially making the mask unusable.
The current invention allows for not only good particulate release during exhalation, but because all areas of the garment are capable of filtration, it can be rotated if necessary to a clean, unused area (in scarf form). The garment is also completely unaffected by moisture
Accordingly, what is needed is a fabric that serves as an air filtration material and provides significant air permeability without becoming clogged with particulates or moisture and which fabric can be utilized in the making of aesthetically pleasing clothing items such as scarfs, balaclavas, shemaghs, masks, face shields and the like.